Category: Wedding Update

So this week and a half was more productive and eventful in the wedding planning arena! And the excitement builds more and more each day!!!

I had my dress fitting last Tuesday and – hallelujah!!!!! – it fit (and then some)! The first seamstress came in to zip me up and get an initial view of it. I asked her about getting cutlets, which are basically just the padded cups from a bra, because I’m not well-endowed up there if you catch my drift. She brought two in, slipped them into the top of my dress, and (voila!) I had a little somethin’ somethin’ going on.

The second seamstress came in and got down to business. My first concern was the poofy crinoline/tulle at the bottom of my dress, so she got right to cutting it out. I was really nervous; I mean she was cutting it out of my dress right then and there, so there was no going back! What if this completely ruined my dress?!

Thankfully, when she finished cutting and I let the dress fall, it looked perfect and just how I wanted. Phew!

She ended up having to pin about half an inch on each side along my torso to make the dress hug my body better. After all that pinning, I made sure that I could still sit comfortably and that there would be room if I ate or drank (seeing as I plan to do both the day of the wedding). I was able to sit without hearing any ripping sounds, so I won’t have to stand or starve all wedding day!

I was relieved to find that my shoes worked perfectly with the length of my dress, so no hemming is involved; that saves me $150 right there! The last thing she worked on was the bustle. Now, all 3 of us (Tom’s mom, sister, and I) had thought that a bustle was just one button with one loop to hold the train up off the floor. Easy peasy, right?

Nope. I guess the standard is about 8 buttons and hooks; my dress will have 11. Like, what?! It’s going to take a team of people to bustle the thing! Once she had it all bustled, it looked amazing. I scheduled my final fitting for the 29th so I have to keep up the workouts and healthy eating so that the dress still fits. I won’t get to take my dress home that day because they will still have to press it and the veil after the final fitting.

I met with my photographer, Jon, on Thursday to go over day-of details. It was so great sitting and talking with him – we went to SUNY Geneseo together, so it was nice catching up. I had a few pictures/poses pinned on my Love & Marriage Pinterest board and I knew that I wanted a romantic style with a little fun and silly mixed in. I definitely knew I wanted to take advantage of the beautiful grounds at the country club, and the (fingers, toes, and eyeballs crossed!) beautiful August weather. But other than that, I figured I would wait and get Jon’s opinion.

He was very thorough since he’s done this before and knows what works and what doesn’t. We talked about the overall rough schedule of the day, where certain aspects were taking place, who would be giving toasts, what family members would be included in family pictures, and stuff like that. I’m really, really excited now that we’ve gotten to talk about everything and have a good idea of what will happen on August 16. Go check out Jon’s website/work and tell your friends – he is an amazing photographer!

So in my 7 week update I mentioned the debacle with my mom – I got her a laptop but the nursing home had no flipping idea what the internet password was. Update: they still haven’t figured it out. Like, how have you all survived this long in life? Cue cat face palm.

I’ve been trying to think of alternative ways but if they can’t get her connected to the internet, live-streaming seems pointless (at least in her case…but she’s the only case at the moment). So Tom and I talked about getting two Go-Pro cameras and setting them up at two different angles in order to catch the goings-on of the ceremony. Then we could edit it and show it to Mom while we’re upstate for the reception. She wouldn’t get to see it as it happens, but it’s better than not seeing anything.

Tom had his bachelor party Friday night with the guys. I got sent a few pictures throughout the night, which was comical, and I’m pretty sure they all had a good time together in Fire Island.

I ordered another piece of my bridesmaids’ gifts. That’s pretty much all I will say about that.

The deadline for RSVPs was Saturday and I still have about 35 people that I have yet to hear from. Sigh. Lots of phone calls/texts/Facebook messages have already been made/sent and many more need to happen.

I am making my own escort card display and that’s what I plan on accomplishing this coming weekend. In the meantime, I’ll be inputing peoples’ names into a template that I ordered on Etsy for the actual escort cards. It’s so convenient and I figured out the font combination that is both legible and pretty – it’s all in the details. I can’t really finalize any of those until I work out the seating chart, which I can’t really do until everyone responds and tells me whether they’re coming or not. Sigh again.

The plan for the seating chart is something I’ve seen on Pinterest and was also told about from friends. So I’ll get a big poster board, draw the floor plan on it with table numbers, write everyone’s names on skinny Post-It notes, and arrange them around the tables. This saves lead, erasers, and time because moving people is as easy as pulling up a sticky note and then laying down said sticky note elsewhere. So smart!

I talked to a few of our vendors Monday and Tuesday of this week just to make sure things are going kosher-ly (word?). And they are! Once I have a better idea of a final headcount, I can order our cake. I also have an idea for a cake topper, so I’m going to see if I can make one myself or if I need to look into buying one already made.

Side note, let’s hope that the Long Island Rail Road strike doesn’t actually happen because that will be a pain in the ass for us trying to get back and forth from the city to do all this wedding stuff, and for out-of-town wedding guests come August 15 and 16! Fingers crossed!

Another week, another wedding update, and I’m feeling a bit more accomplished this week.

First off, I’ve been dealing with some garbage for the past couple weeks that I won’t get into detail about but have talked to a few people about because it just bugs me so much. It’s frustrating when someone tries and tries and TRIES to make your and your fiancé’s wedding day about themselves and you so badly want to tell them off but realize that you need to be the adult in the situation and just stay calm and cool and instead of blowing up at them and telling them what’s really on your mind and to put them in their place (as they have deserved for many years now) you remain level-headed and explain your perfectly reasonable rationale for decisions you’ve made concerning their part in your big day (for the twelfth time) when you’d rather just tell them not to come because you don’t need the added stress and frustration.

Whew, had to get that off my chest. Moving on…

I sent out the remainder of the Thank You cards for everyone who attended my bridal showers. It felt good dropping the last of them in the mailbox on Wednesday!

I continued hunting for bridesmaids gifts and although it seemed as if I couldn’t come up with anything before, now I have too many ideas and need to narrow them down. Like, now I’m juggling between getting the girls Lamborghinis or Corvettes; how is a girl to choose?!

Haha just kidding because mama don’t sleep on a pile of gold ya know. I mean, does anyone? If so, how is that working out for you? Do you see a chiropractor often?

Anyways, I think I’ve decided what I want to get my girls thanks to Tom – he helps me rationalize things when the emotional and stressed side of me gets too strong – so I’ll get their gifts soon.

Also, I bought my shoes!!!!!!! I’m not usually this excited about shoes, although I think I would be if I had cute, non-deformed feet. We’re getting down to the wire here and I’m so glad I finally found a cute pair that fits, seems comfortable enough, and meets the height requirements. I found them at David’s Bridal and found out that they were on clearance – bonus! I need to start breaking those babies in so my feet don’t want to murder me on the day of because foreign objects are rubbing them the wrong way all day.

My dress fitting is this coming Tuesday (so I should probably stop snacking on these Reeses Oreos I bought Tom as part of his birthday gift) so it’s good timing because I need the shoes to wear at the fitting to make sure they aren’t too tall. I also started a new fitness plan called Tone It Up to (try to) keep me motivated and moving throughout the days. I’m going crazy not having a job to keep me busy and occupied and moving all day, so hopefully this helps. I’ve been running regularly but this plan provides toning exercises (they even have a Bridal workout section!) to complete on top of my regular cardio.

Let’s see, what else? Oh! We bought our airline tickets and booked our rental car and hotel for the upstate weekend shindig! I think the credit card was smoking a bit after those purchases. Goodness gracious but that was a big check off the list!

Oh, I actually ended up getting two invitations returned to me this week. Like, thanks USPS for waiting 3 weeks after I sent them to give them back. So I’m sorry to those people who will be receiving theirs with only 2 weeks left to respond. The RSVPs keep coming in. It’s funny because one day there will be none or maybe one in the mailbox, then the next there are about six.

I have been working on getting up an “Our Story” type blog post since this website was created. At first, I figured it would just be my point of view since I’m the one manning the wedding website. But as time has gone on, I decided it would be pretty cool to get both of our perspectives. I tend to write a lot, and I’m very descriptive, and I (sometimes) remember more than Tom does. So instead of just having one post with my POV, I’ve asked Tom to write his perspective of how we met, when we dated, got engaged, etc. So be on the look-out for those posts in the coming weeks!

First off, make sure you wish Mr. Tom Harrigan a very Happy 26th Birthday (tomorrow)! Although he hates them because they mean he’s getting older, tell him that birthdays are special and he’s becoming wiser and that he needs to enjoy every passing year. Especially because this is the last birthday he spends as an unmarried man, so next year’s will be that much better! I love you, Tom!

Okay, now to the wedding stuff. Less than 50 days ladies and gentlemen!

RSVPs are slowly trickling in; I’m excited every day when I check the mailbox and find one or two tiny envelopes. There are still about 3 weeks left until the respond-by date, so not too much a rush is necessary.

Downstate bridal shower thank-you notes have been sent, so that’s a big check off the list! Most upstate notes have been written but they’re still a work in progress.

We’ll be emailing our venue coordinator, Rich, about our menu selections this week. I remember last August/September when we met with Rich and booked the venue and he told us we didn’t have to choose our menu until two months before the wedding. That seemed like light years but it’s happening so soon now!

Maybe we should contact the cake bakery to give them our decision for the cake, too. And I think we have a couple additions to our florist order, so I’ll call her soon. Heck, I may just talk to all the vendors soon so I can make sure everything will be as it should. And to keep track of the stuff we have vendors for. And to make sure I remember everyone we need to pay. That would be good.

I started getting some gifts for my bridesmaids, so I feel a little accomplished in that area, but that’s also a work in progress. We’re still working on ideas for Tom’s groomsmen. I mean, how many flasks, tie clips, money clips, cuff links, or pocket watches do guys really need in their lifetime? And do they actually use any of these things, honestly? I could see using the flask once in awhile, but if anything more than that we have a problem. So we’ll see what he ends up going with.

Okay so if you remember I purchased a laptop for my mom so that we could video chat, send emails and pictures, and so that she could watch the wedding. First off, I still have to figure out how that will work in terms of the venue’s Internet situation, where the camera is going to be, whether someone would have to man (or woman) the camera, etc.

Well, when I was upstate, I revealed Mom’s present to her and she was in disbelief. I couldn’t really show her how to use it because it was Sunday so no one was in the office that could tell me the wi-fi password; it’s a Chromebook and everything needs Internet to work. So I went back the next day and wouldn’t you know no one in the office has a clue what the password is. Apparently someone changed it and they can’t remember what they changed it to. Really?

They keep assuring Mom and I that they will set it up for her in my absence and make sure she sees the wedding. It has been over a week now and it still has not been resolved. “That’s just terrific,” is something my mom says when she’s none too happy, so I think that would fit perfectly right here.

I’ve been worrying more and more about my dress fitting coming up in 2 weeks. I mean, what if it doesn’t fit? I know I just had it on a couple weeks ago and it fit, but what if I can’t sit in it comfortably? What if the alterations still don’t make it look like I want it to? And I still haven’t figured out my shoe situation because narrow your search between 1” and 2.5” heels it’s like a no-man’s-land. And if you’re lucky and do get a few results, they aren’t dressy enough or they’re just plain ugly. And I have horrible feet to begin with, so that kills the search completely. I’m going to check out David’s Bridal tomorrow because they seemed to have a few options that weren’t terribly horrible.

I know, I know, #firstworldproblems.

Anyways, that’s pretty much it for now. In the next week or so, as RSVPs continue coming in, we can begin making the escort card display and seating chart, but not much else can be done until head count is finalized.

My upstate bridal shower was set to start at 1pm on Saturday, so I booked a flight for Friday afternoon, allowing a relaxing night before the partying began.

But then my flight was delayed and later canceled on Friday evening due to thunderstorms traveling across the Northeast. Luckily I was rebooked for the next morning at 8am, which still left time to get prepared (physically and mentally) for the shower. You can read more about my crazy weekend in the 2 month update!

Everything worked out fine and I was blown away at my friends’ love and creativity. But, then again, I wasn’t. They’re my friends for a reason, right? Of course they love me and I know they’re all amazingly creative and thoughtful; I guess I was just taken aback at how everything came together beautifully even though only 2 of them are currently living in the same town as the shower and as each other!

The shower was held at Sweet Ecstasy Bakery in Batavia. Now, I know you may think that sounds like a strip joint, adult toy shop, or something, but I promise it is a great location for lunch or some other special occasion. My Aunt Gracia had originally sent me the brochure as an idea for the upstate reception at the end of August, but I realized that the largest room most likely wouldn’t be big enough (it holds up to 55).

We arrived a bit early to decorate and check out the venue a bit before everyone started to arrive. It was great to finally be back with my best girlfriends again – making your life and home in a new city and being far from familiar faces is so difficult. You realize just how much you took for granted all those times you just hung out watching TV or sat in the backyard roasting marshmallows or had the ability to just go out to lunch on a spur of the moment thing. But then again it makes the times you do get to see each other that much more special and precious.

It was wonderful just throwing around our familiar jokes and stories while creating new ones. And it made me so happy to see friends from different “groups” come together and get along. Not that I thought there would be a problem between any of my bridesmaids, but not everyone gets along with everyone else (AKA life). I have the best friends.

So we got all the decorations out, made the place look even more beautiful, and people started arriving! I got to see family and my mom’s long-time friends whom I haven’t seen in (literally) years. It was so wonderful knowing that I had the support of all of these ladies and I can’t wait for them to meet Tom, whether at the downstate wedding or the upstate reception, because I know they will love him.

I was especially ecstatic that my mom was able to make it to my shower. Not only because I haven’t seen her since December, but also because she doesn’t get out of the nursing home much. I know she was so happy to see me, her friends, and family that she also hasn’t seen in years.

Once everyone showed up, my friend Megan took over as game hostess. And she rocked it – look out Vanna! I must admit I was a bit skeptical about playing bridal shower games – I’ve heard of and played a bunch that are so cheesy and lame, they just seem like time-wasters.

But not these games – these games rocked. The first game was Name That Tune Love Song Edition. Everyone was so into it! The prizes were cute little cups filled with a bunch of mixed mini chocolates – Twix, 3 Musketeers, Milky Ways, etc.

After the game, we ate our delicious lunch and then it was on to game #2 – He Said, She Said: Facebook Edition! It was the cutest game: given Facebook statuses that Tom and I have posted, guests had to guess who said each by circling either the mustache (Tom) or lips (me). I got them all right, so I got a cup of chocolates. Boom, memory. Also, let me just say that the two of us are very witty in our status posts.

Then it was time for presents; I got so many great items and beautiful cards, so thank you to everyone!! Thankfully people offered to take the larger ones and ship them to us downstate because there was no way I could take them all on the plane back home.

And then: Cookies and Cream Marble cake. Sorry, do I need to repeat that? Could you not hear over your mouth salivating? I don’t blame you, I could totally go for a piece right now. It was so amazingly good. And a few truffles, petit fours, and macarons were placed in the middle of the tables as well. Overall, I would give the food a 10/10, hands down.

Did you think it ended with cake? Nope! They had one more game for me and it was fantastic. And difficult! It was like the couples quiz game; Megan said she asked Tom a bunch of questions and I guess how I thought he answered. Got it? Well it actually ended up evoking a question from our Pastor’s wife about Tom and my first date. I just kind of said, “We went to Starbucks on campus in Geneseo.”

But my friend Courtney (whom I befriended through Tom) took over and told the whole story of Tom getting ready for said date, his being gone for over 3 hours for said date, and his reaction after said date. It was so nice getting someone else’s perspective on it; she had everyone’s attention and they all ‘aww’ed afterward.

Everyone started heading out after we thanked them all for coming, taking their Bath and Body Works hand lotion favors with cute little tags on them. I am so incredibly blessed and thankful for everyone who took part in that day.

The owner of the bakery was exceptionally nice as well – she was focused on making sure we had everything we needed the entire time. She did a fantastic job on the food, cake, table set-up, and her hospitality was superb. I definitely recommend Sweet Ecstasy Bakery!

To my friends in my bridal party: thank you all for setting the whole thing up, for being great friends, and working so well with each other! I am so glad to have you in my life, not just for throwing me a great party, but for the wonderful times that we’ve had together in the past and that we will have in the future. I love you all.

Like seriously. This post includes not only wedding updates, but also life updates because, well, it’s my blog and I do what I want. Are you ready?

Last weekend, I wrote about my progress with invitations. I’m glad to say that I’m 99% done (there are a few stragglers that Tom needs to find addresses for) and have sent out any and all invitations that I could! I put the majority of them in the mail on Sunday the 8th (the day after I wrote my 10 week update post on our wedding website) and have already gotten a bunch of response cards back!

I’m using an Excel spreadsheet to keep track of responses as they come. I made a column of all the people we invited, and then made columns for the downstate and upstate festivities, under which I will write the names of people in relation to how they responded. So I’m keeping track of who has responded, how they responded to each event, and also how many are coming. Exciting stuff! Yeah!

The next day, Monday, I accepted a teaching job for next school year! I’ll be the newest addition to the math and science crew at Mary McDowell Friends Upper School here in Brooklyn and I couldn’t be more excited! I worked there this past year as a paraprofessional, employed by a family whose student attends the school. I’m ecstatic that I get to work with (almost) everyone again this year, only as a teacher this time! I’m sad to see people go, but wish them all the best in their amazing future endeavors (one guy is going to Malaysia to teach math!) and know they’ll kick butt wherever they are.

Tuesday was a ‘no school’ day so I spent the day cleaning and relaxing. Wednesday was the last official day of school for my student, and it was a half day, so I got to chill a bit that day too. I went and got a spray tan so that I wouldn’t blend in with my ivory colored bridal shower dress. Although they were two different dresses, both of my shower dresses were similarly pale and would not mesh well with my pastiness.

Thursday I got my hair colored and blown out. I’m telling you, I would love it if those girls would wash my hair and massage my scalp like that every other day. It feels amazing! And the stylist was able to get my hair straight and swishy! Please come home with me!

Friday was flight day, so I spent the morning packing and getting ready to fly upstate for the weekend. I hadn’t heard anything bad in weather reports, so I left for the airport around 2 so that I would arrive about 75 minutes before my scheduled flight time. Everything was going smoothly – the subway was on time and connection times weren’t long, and I got to the AirTrain in great time.

And that’s when Delta emailed me saying that my flight was delayed an hour. I texted my friend in Boston, Michelle, since we were originally flying in to Buffalo around the same time, and I also texted my friend in Buffalo, Courtney, to let her know since she was picking us up. Michelle said her flight was cancelled and wouldn’t be getting out until the next morning. We discussed what it could be due to – both of us were looking at fairly clear skies!

I got to JFK and my flight was still only delayed an hour which was good. I got my bag checked and, wouldn’t you know it, when I walk out of security and check the departures board, my flight was cancelled. Delta kindly sent me an email letting me know that everything was good and they rebooked me for a 4pm flight the following afternoon.

Little did they know, that would not work seeing as my bridal shower was at 1pm the following afternoon. So I stood in line for over an hour and the agent was able to rebook me for the 8am flight the following morning. She was really kind and wished me congratulations and good luck on my bridal shower.

Back home I went, this time only with my small carry-on, which was convenient but also meant that all of my beauty products were somewhere in the airport instead of at my fingertips. This meant that I would look like a bag lady until I got said products and the use of someone’s bathroom mirror and outlets upstate. And I was worried that something would happen that would cause my luggage to be lost, and then I’d look like a bag lady all weekend. Nonetheless, back on the AirTrain and subway I went, annoyed but sure everything would work out fine.

Except it was lashing rain when I got out of the subway. Thunder, lightning, the whole shebang. Luckily, in said carry-on, I had my umbrella. Okay, I guess it was a good thing we didn’t try to fly.

The next morning, when I went to leave at 4:30am to go through the whole process again, my sneakers were still wet; not pleasant. Everything went fine and before I knew it, I was landing in Buffalo…where it was about 20 degrees colder than I had packed for. My checked bag made it there fine and, wouldn’t you know, Michelle’s flight was only about half an hour ahead of mine! So it all worked out perfectly!

We got to Batavia in record time, enjoying some TimBits and caffeine on the way, and I was (finally!) able to beautify myself. The entire day was party day – bridal shower, lingerie shopping (oh la la!), and bachelorette party. It was so great seeing all of my friends and family! I want to thank all the ladies who planned and attended my bridal shower this past weekend – it was a fabulous time and I can’t begin to tell you how special I felt. I’ll be writing a post about it soon so stay tuned!

Sunday was relax by the pool day with my friend Jenna whose family generously opened their home to me all weekend. I’m so glad we got a nice sunny day to enjoy! Monday was spent visiting my mom and Godmother before I had to take off once again. My friend Becky drove me to the airport and we got to talk like we used to in college, just shooting the breeze…figuratively and literally since the AC doesn’t work in her car and it was like 84 that day, so the windows were all down! My car was the same exact way a few years ago so it wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle.

My flight home was very smooth and it was so nice to get home and finally not live out of a suitcase! And, of course, see and hug and talk to Tom! I am so grateful that I was able to see and spend time with so many wonderful people this weekend. I miss that so much and I know that it will probably only get harder as everyone gets married and starts having kids and whatnot, but I want to make a point to get together at least once or twice a year because those relationships are so important!

So I made a decision this week – hold your applause – to make the updates weekly now because the last 2ish months will contain the most activity. All the big things have been taken care of over the past 9 months, and they were more spaced apart. I’m realizing that everything from here on out will take more time and effort; all the little things are and will be the most time-consuming!

Well, since my last post, a lot has happened; by the end of this post, you’ll see why we need weekly updates! Most of this stuff happened last weekend, actually.

Last Saturday was crazy. My future mother- and sister-in-law spent practically the entire day together running around doing wedding stuff with me. Our first mission was to go to the bridal salon where my dress is from to get a sample of my veil to take to the hair stylist. When we arrived at the dress shop, they said I was able to take my real veil for my hair trial; so exciting!

They had called earlier that week and said that my dress was also in and that I should schedule my first dress fitting in July – eeek!!! – so we scheduled it for July 8 (my sister-in-law’s 22nd birthday…so we will be celebrating all day). I’ve been thinking about what shoes I should get to wear with my dress, but was unsure of how tall I could go without being too tall for my dress. The lady at the salon told me I could just try on my dress if I wanted, and then try on a few of the shoes they had for this purpose.

So there I was, putting on my wedding dress! It was just as pretty as I remembered. And it fit (whew)! But something just didn’t look right; I realized it was a little too poofy and stiff in comparison to when I tried on the sample. Long story short, I don’t remember there being crinoline under the dress.

When I go for my fitting, I will see how it looks with the crinoline steamed flat but may just have them remove one or both layers. I also found that any shoes less than 2.5″ will work for my dress, so I’ve started hunting for possibilities so I can get them and start breaking them in.

Before going to the hair stylist’s house, we went to a kiosk in the mall to look for a pretty barrette or hairpiece to use. I ended up choosing a sparkly barrette and some little gems that you twist in the hair when it’s finished.

When we got to the stylist’s house, I told him what I wanted for my hair first. He did a loose version of it and we tested out the barrette and the veil, and they worked beautifully together. My hair looked and felt really nice and soft even though he sprayed a bunch of hairspray on my hair. I don’t think I’ll end up using those little gems on the day of the wedding, so that stinks because the kiosk charges a buttload for all of their items.

It was then time for makeup. On a daily basis, I really only apply makeup on and around my eyes. That is, of course, unless it’s that time of the month and I have more need for concealer on my face. Even though he prefaced (pun intended) my makeup trial with, “I really push brides to stay as natural as possible,” I was half expecting him to put a bunch of foundation, concealer, powder, blush, eye makeup, etc on my face. But I’m so glad he didn’t. He only put concealer on my eyes, around my nose, and on the one pimple near my mouth, and then set it with a little powder.

I was kind of nervous about how much blush he put on; I know they say to put a little more on than usual because otherwise you look washed out in pictures, but this seemed kind of excessive. He also put some blush on my eyelids and I wasn’t a huge fan. The blush was a peach color so my eyelids (and cheeks) looked very pink-y orange. I told him I think I’d like to try a little eyeshadow, so he showed me the options and they were gorgeous; I definitely want to use them when the day comes. As long as I don’t look like a clown, I’ll be happy.

I also didn’t really like the lip gloss he used at first; it was too glittery and frosty for my liking. I showed him my favorite lip gloss for everyday use and he said, “Oh, you must not wear any makeup!” because it is just a natural pink color. So he got a lip gloss that had a little more color and was more on the mauve-y side. He then said he would use a different blush that would complement the lip color better.

When we left, my mother-in-law commented that my makeup looked less harsh in the natural light versus the lights in his salon. I’m glad I spoke up about my thoughts and opinions though because I still wasn’t a fan of the super peach-y color on my fair skin.

Which brings me to the next shenanigan…

We were home for maybe half an hour before my sister-in-law and I took a trip to the tanning salon. I have been talking about going and trying out a spray tan for awhile now to get an idea of how it might look for the wedding. I didn’t want to just try it for the first time days before the wedding because what if it turned out looking ridiculous?

I could’ve ended up looking like an oompa-loompa. Or Anne Hathaway in Bride Wars. Or any cast member on Jersey Shore.

We went to the Beach Bum Tanning Salon since my sister-in-law is familiar with the place. The guy at the desk was really friendly and informative and helped me make a decision about the color. I went with the light color (duh) and opted for a bronze boost to give me a deeper undertone without making me look orange. He took me to the spray booth, explained what to do, and left me to it.

The actual spray process took maybe 3 minutes but it felt a lot faster; it was the post-spray that took a little longer. I felt kind of sticky, even though I stayed in the booth for the entire final drying cycle, patted myself off with the towel they provide, and danced around for a bit to dry off. Yes, I looked like a freak. But you get your own room, so whatever.

I left looking a little tanner because of the bronze boost, and it only got darker throughout the night. So since I had been running around all day, that night I decided to relax a bit and began addressing invitations!

I practiced my curly capital letters in order to get my prettiest writing and, since starting, I’ve become more confident and it’s become a lot easier. So far, I’m about 90% finished with addressing, stuffing, and postage-ing invitations and have about 30 extra ones in case we find more people we want to invite. I’m so glad I opted to pay a bit more for self-adhesive envelopes – best decision I’ve made so far. I have only messed up on a few of the envelopes so that’s pretty darn good!

As the night went on, I could tell my skin was getting darker, and when I woke up the following morning, I was quite surprised by how dark my face looked. I mean, I could’ve been Puerto Rican or something. Luckily it toned down a bit once I showered, and my mother-in-law said I looked healthy and not orange. All good things!

Not only did my glow-y skin made me look healthy, it also complemented my bridal shower dress way more than my pasty skin did. My dress was a cream color, so instead of my skin matching my dress, you could actually tell where my skin ended and my dress began.

This past weekend I was so blessed and honored by the beautiful bridal shower hosted by my future mother- and sister-in-law.

The day went off without a hitch. To start, the weather was absolutely amazing; leaving the house and being greeted by the sunshine was fantastic.

Not only that, but the restaurant, the food, the staff, and of course all of the wonderful ladies that attended made for a perfect shower.

We arrived at The Country House in Stony Brook and everything was decorated beautifully. We had the largest of the 4 dining rooms and as we entered the room, a large punch bowl greeted us. It was filled with a champagne and fruit juice mix with blackberries and strawberry pieces floating in it. I immediately took a glass and was pleasantly surprised to find it wasn’t too bubbly but also wasn’t too juicy; I ended up having 3 glasses without feeling any effects, so it wasn’t strong.

Each table was set featuring lavender napkins and centered with a bouquet of flowers. I chose a seat more towards the middle of the room so that I could mingle with everyone instead of being set apart from them all. Mrs. Harrigan bought a huge balloon featuring wedding bells to tie to my chair, making it known who the bride-to-be was.

I met so many women that I had only heard stories about and sent save-the-dates to, so it was great finally putting faces to names. Meeting some of Mrs. Harrigan’s work friends was fun because I’ve heard hilarious work stories featuring them.

Once everyone had shown up, the staff served us salad to start before bringing out the entrees – a choice of chicken marsala or salmon with risotto. I went for the salmon and it was divine.

After the main course, they brought out the coffee, tea, and cake. This cake. Oh my goodness was it delicious. It was a vanilla cake with a chocolate mousse filling and buttercream frosting. The actual cake part was so moist (ugh, I hate that word), and the frosting was so soft. And to top it off, there was a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. Let me tell you, it was Heaven on a plate.

Once all the place settings were cleared, it was time for presents. It was great because the staff members of the restaurant were at the ready so whenever I was finished opening a present they would come over and take it to another spot in the restaurant. This way I wasn’t accumulating a pile of stuff around me and it made the process of loading up the cars easier.

I could not believe just how many presents were filling up the present table. I (and Tom, by default) was way too spoiled, but I’m so excited about everything I (we) received. Thank you all so much for your kind and entertaining company, loving support, and well wishes.

As people left, they were reminded to take a favor, these adorable little mason jars wrapped with burlap and lace and filled with jelly beans. My sister-in-law found it on Pinterest – she finds the best stuff on there.

Tom went out to lunch with his friends and his dad while us ladies were at the shower, so they came at the end of the party to help with loading the cars and to mingle a bit with those who were still around.

I have my second bridal shower in 2 weekends upstate where I will get to see my friends and family from home! I am beyond excited to see everyone and have a fun-filled (and hopefully cake-filled!) weekend.

As time continues to wind down and August 16 draws closer, I get more and more excited to be marrying my best friend and (officially) becoming part of the Harrigan family. I love you all and thank you for everything.

90 days folks. Ninety. Days. That’s like how much time stores give to return items. In 90 days, there will be no returns, exchanges, or refunds. No exceptions.So this month, I (once again) have not done much. I bought my plane tickets to go upstate in June for my bridal shower. I also chose the color for my girls’ shoes. Do those count?

Oh, my friend and I picked out adorable outfits for her twins (our ring bearer and flower girl)! They will probably steal the show.

I just talked to our Pastor last night and he informed me we should figure out exactly what we want for our ceremony – whether we want special music, readings, etc. We haven’t really talked about that but we definitely will make some decisions soon!

But yeah, it seems like everyone else has done more work this month than me…

My bridesmaids and maid of honor have been taking care of bridal shower (and bachelorette party?) stuff. And I have no idea what to expect, which is how it’s supposed to be, but I am usually the type to know all the details. But I love surprises and my friends are amazing, so I’m not too worried.

My coworker was asking about my bachelorette party and what I wanted and what I thought they might do for me. All I really want is to have fun with my girlfriends, have some drinks and maybe go dancing (either at a club or bar or in one of their basements). I’m not picky.

She then asked about having male strippers; I told her that if she knew me and my friends, we aren’t into that kind of thing. “Look, I know the bachelorette party is mainly for the bride, but it’s also for the friends to have fun. You never know, some of them might be into that kind of thing.” Ohh if she only knew my friends. I think if they got me male strippers, after puking in my mouth a little, I would ultimately laugh out of discomfort and the sheer ridiculousness of it all.

And no phallic straws, cakes, glasses, necklaces, tiaras, piñatas, etc. please. I’m sorry but it had to be mentioned. I’m not worried that my friends will do that kind of thing, but I just wanted to make a general comment. Good Lord the things people come up with.

Moving right along, my mother- and sister-in-law have been planning a bridal shower for Tom’s family and friends down here. My mother-in-law made a trial hair and makeup appointment with a guy her sister and friend both love and recommended. Woot! I’m excited to be made pretty!

She also found a large picture frame at a garage sale that is going to be perfect for my escort card display. It was a picture originally sold for $70 at Home Goods (the sticker was still on the back) that she purchased for $3. The picture is ridiculously ugly and I can’t imagine who would pay that much money for it. But yeah we’ll take the picture out, replace it with a piece of burlap covered wood, and then hammer nails into it to hang keys from. I saw it on Pinterest so hopefully it turns out okay.

Oh! Oh! I have been looking for outfits for my mom for the upstate reception! Boom! Werk it gurl. So yeah I asked her what kind of outfit she would like to wear and started searching online for dresses and shoes. I have to get her approval so I will show her my finds when I’m back home for my bridal shower weekend next month.

I’m super pumped because she will be able to view them on her new laptop!!!! I bought her an Acer, but shhhh, she won’t get it until I go up in June. I will play around with it, download applications she will need, and get used to it so I can just explain how to use it instead of us both learning together. I got it mainly so that she can have email so I can send her pictures, listen to music, watch me get married, and also watch cat videos on YouTube! She has no idea, and I’m really excited, and I hope she likes it, so don’t tell her!

Let’s see, I’ve been working out at least twice every week so that I can be sure to fit into my dress! I’m using the C25K free app to get me running about 3 times per week; I used it last year when I was training for an actual 5K, and it worked wonders. It’s an 8-week training program that is meant to be used 3 times per week to increase your endurance and ultimately run a 5K in about 30 minutes (to average around a 10-minute mile).

Personally, I’ve been using the app to keep me from getting bored while running. You should definitely check it out if you’re either training to run a 5K or get bored while running and need a little guidance to improve your endurance.

So I’m thinking this next month will be filled with addressing invitations, trying out hair and makeup styles, testing a spray tan or two, bridal showers, and continuing to grow closer to Tom (aww, I know, cheesy) as our big day draws ever nearer.